Abandoned baby elephant housed at Sakkarebailu camp

Abandoned baby elephant housed at Sakkarebailu camp

Mangalore Today News Network

Sullia, Apr 10, 2018: The eight-month old elephant calf that was left stranded by the herd due to dehydration near the Payaswini river bank near Basmadaka in Sullia, was being shifted to the elephant camp at Sakkarebailu in Shivamogga by Forest Department officials on April 9, Monday.

The calf had strayed into human habitat a few days ago with seven other elephants. However, as this calf was dehydrated, the herd could not take it back despite best efforts.

“After waiting for two days for the herd to come back to take the male calf. We suspect it has rejected the calf as it would hinder their movement. The other elephants put in lot of efforts for the first two days to carry the calf along. However, they did not succeed. Under normal circumstances, they generally come back to take care of their ward. In this case, they haven’t,” said Manjunath, Range Forest Officer, Puttur.

Manjunath said the department staff administered nine bottles of glucose on Sunday and 11 bottles on Monday. However, it did not recover well. “The calf isn’t consuming any food with his mouth,” Manjunath said, as he escorted the calf to the Sakkarebailu camp.

“We hope the calf may get adjusted to the environment at the camp as there are a lot of elephants out there. Also, there are dedicated doctors who specialise in treating such conditions. Upon taking permission from our higher officials and based on the suggestions by our local doctor and the doctors at the camp, we decided to shift the calf there in his best interests,” Manjunath said.